Last to Bloom
by SilverEyedAeorith
Summary: As Lily and James start their 7th year as Head Boy and Girl, Voldemort begins to make his move. Not only do they have to step up to their responsibilities, but Lily discovers that working together with someone can form a bond, and one she never expected.
1. The Last of the Letters

Lily Evans pushed her now darkened auburn hair out of her rich, forest green eyes. It had been six excitement-filled years since she had gotten her first Hogwarts letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and now, at seventeen, she was receiving her last letter ever. Lily set the opened parchment envelope on her desk. She had completely ignored the supply list. After all, she was far too amazed at the silver Head Girl badge that had fallen out of the envelope and into her hand to even think about books or new robes. 

"Lily, what was that ruckus earlier?" Petunia knocked at her door. 

"Nothing!" Lily called back as she traced the letters on the cold badge with her fingers. She could hardly believe that after all her hoping and good behaviour, after avoiding all of the trouble that everyone in her year seemed to enjoy causing, that she had finally become Head Girl. 

"Well, mum wants you to come down for dinner," sighed Petunia. 

Lily heard Petunia dart off down the stairs before Lily could even reply. Lily set the badge on her desk next to her Potions book and headed down stairs. It wasn't as if she didn't enjoy her time at Hogwarts, but she missed the closeness she'd once had with Petunia. Her older sister had, since that first summer, become completely terrified of her, and it was as if a wall had been put up between the two sisters for good. 

"About time you come down, Lily," said Mrs. Evans cheerfully as she set a roast beef on the dinner table. "I know you have to study, being your Seventh Year and all, dear, but you need to keep in touch with the outside world." 

"Sorry, mum," Lily said as she sat down and placed her napkin on her lap. "I'd gotten my supplies list for this year is all, and I sort of got distracted." 

"What sort of supplies do you need this year, Lily?" asked Petunia, slightly curious. 

Lily was totally taken aback. Since when had Petunia been interested in her school things? Ah, well, she thought. Best not look a gift horse in the mouth. 

"I honestly don't know, actually." Lily's cheeks flushed red. "I got sort of distracted." 

Mrs. Evans sat down, setting a bowl of squash next to the beef. 

"Whatever happened to distract you, dear?" asked Mrs. Evans as she sliced the beef and served Petunia, then Lily, healthy portions. 

"I made Head Girl for this year," Lily muttered, her face flushing. 

Mrs. Evans dropped her serving utensils and stared at Lily with the same almond shaped green eyes she had given her daughter. 

"Why, Lily, that's amazing!" 

Petunia nodded in agreement. "I'm quite happy for you, Lily. I'm sure they'll need someone with a level head at your school to keep the ruffians they must let in under control." 

Lily chuckled. "Oh, you have no idea, Petunia!" Lily opened up to her family and told them more about the goings on at Hogwarts from the previous year as they enjoyed their dinner, but while half of her mind was focused on family, the other half was focused on that silly little 'ruffian' as her sister had put it. That silly boy that had made quite an impression on her and was sitting in a very similar position to hers, but of course, how was Lily to know that 

Many miles away from Lily Evans, James Potter was sitting in his room, Sirius Black curled up on the top bunk of their bunkbeds, snoring like a dragon that had just eaten a very large meal. Of course, with the amount that James' parents fed them, Sirius, in a way, was sleeping exactly like that. 

"So, how much you want to bet Remus gets Head Boy?" James asked his tawny owl, Oscar, moodily. James rolled over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling of his bedroom. "I know I'm not one for rules, but Head Boy would be nice." 

James glared at the Hogwarts letter that was sitting, unopened, on his dresser. He would never admit it to Sirius, well, maybe he would Sirius, but never to Remus or Peter, that he was afraid to open the letter. James knew, without a doubt, that his one true love, and total crush, Lily Evans, would definitely make Head Girl. 

"James, are you ever going to open that damned letter?" yawned Sirius as he woke up from his nap. "I mean, let's face it, even though you greatly improved your behaviour this past year by cutting pranks in half, your chances of Head Boy are slim." 

James glared at Sirius. "Why, Sleeping Beauty, good of you to join the rest of the living." 

Sirius sat up and blinked at his friend curiously, and chuckled as he ran his fingers through his wavy black hair. "You know, I was just poking fun at you. Besides, it's between you and Remus for sure. Who knows who Dumbledore would have picked, at least until you open the letter." 

James sighed and looked at the parchment envelope. He really wanted to open it. Like he really, really wanted to open it and see. 

"I'm half afraid it'll bite me," muttered James as he picked up the heavy envelope by the corner. 

"Just open it James, or I'll hex you," Sirius pulled his wand out of his pocket. 

James inhaled deeply and tore the top off the envelope, closed his eyes and dumped the contents out on his floor. He opened them and, at his feet, was a silver badge that read 'Head Boy'. 

Sirius suddenly sat straight up. "No way, James, no effing way!" He grinned devilishly and let out a whoop of victory. "Now we can cause as much trouble as we want! Yes!" 

James picked up the badge and examined it closely while Sirius Apparated downstairs. James could hear him telling everyone within earshot about James' new position of authority, and it wasn't long before his mum knocked at the door and came into his room. 

"James, dear, is that true?" Mrs. Potter asked, a slight look of doubt on her face. 

James held up the badge and nodded while Mrs. Potter didn't bother hiding her shock, but burst into tears of joy all the same. 

"Oh, my little boy has grown up so much!" Mrs. Potter sobbed as Sirius Apparated next to her. "Wait until your father comes home, he'll be so pleased!" 

"Hey, mum, be careful, he might have a heart attack!" joked Sirius as he clapped James on the back. "Nice one, Prongs. Now maybe you can score a date with Lily." 

James flushed and pushed his friend away. "Not funny!" 

"Oh, you know it is!" laughed Sirius. "I wonder if she got her letter today." 

"Probably so," James shrugged and messed his already messy hair with his free hand, his other already holding his badge. If Lily really had made Head Girl, and him Head Boy, then things would definitely get very interesting once they got back on the train back to Hogwarts. Of course, part of him really couldn't wait for that moment at all. James had a very good feeling about the upcoming year. 

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading! I recently saw the 5th Harry Potter movie, totally awesome btw, and I've been in a Marauder mood lately, so I figured I'd work on this. I also have a Naruto and Wolf's Rain fic that I'm working on, too. Ah! Anyways, please be patient with me if it takes me a while to update. I WILL finish this story! Promise I have 2 finished ones under my belt right now, one almost complete, and another that's still really in progress. Anyways, please read and review, reviews help me know that people are enjoying my story and, fellow writers should know, that they are very motivating. I'm also a college student, so once fall gets closer, updates will prolly take a litle longer. Thanks, and enjoy! Aeorith 


	2. Sweet Changes

"I'm going to Diagon Alley, Mum!" Lily called as before she Apparated away to Diagon Alley. She had eventually been able to overcome the slight shock of making Head Girl, but that was only after dinner. Now that it was the next day, she had been able to let everything sink in, and was headed out to buy her school supplies.

It was only a few seconds before Lily appeared outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, where she was shortly greeted by three other girls.

"Congrats, Lily," beamed her best friend Alyssa Blite. Alyssa was a tall girl of seventeen, with long, honey brown hair that was wavy and then curled towards the ends, and had rich, chocolate brown eyes. Alyssa was in Gryffindor like Lily, although she was a little bit more of a trouble maker. "I hope this doesn't mean that you'll give me detention for laughing at Sirius' pranks now."

Lily laughed with a shake of her head. "I would never do that. I would have to give myself detention then."

"Well, you know you're just dying to give Potter detention for harassment," chimed in Selene Horne. Selene was another one of Lily's good friends. Actually, Selene was a Muggleborn like herself, and even from a neighborhood that wasn't far from her own. With Selene's dark, jet black hair and ice blue eyes, she was the envy of every girl in the school.

"It's that sort of attitude that got your butt landed in Slytherin," sighed Corrine Plotts, not looking up from her book. Corrine was fairly average looking, with her light brown hair that came to her shoulders and her round brown eyes.

"Yeah and it was that sharp, witty tongue of yours that landed you in Ravenclaw," laughed Lily as she returned to the table with a chocolate and marshmallow ice cream.

All four girls laughed loudly as they enjoyed their treats. It had been six long years since they all met on the same train ride to Hogwarts. Perhaps it was expected for them to become rivals once they had been placed in different houses, but the girls stayed close friends despite their differences.

"So, who do you think the Head Boy will be?" asked Selene as she took a bite of her mint ice cream. "Everyone in my house is hoping that Lucius Malfoy gets it, but I think I would die if he did."

Alyssa nodded. "Wasn't he supposed to leave Hogwarts, like, three years ago?" She licked the whipped cream off the back of her spoon.

Corrine shrugged. "He wanted to 'further his education' and take more classes. Personally I think he just wanted a chance to get with Narcissa. You know, that blond girl in our year?"

"Ugh, I can't stand Narcissa," groaned Selene. "Her sister Bellatrix is insane though. Although Andromeda isn't too bad. How she ended up in Slytherin, I'll never figure out."

"It's probably her ambition," Lily pointed out. "At least that's what it would be from what I know about her from Defense Against the Dark Arts. She's the next best in our class to Potter, and he is really good at that subject."

"Wow, Lily, admitting something good about Potter." Alyssa winked at her and Lily blushed.

"Don't read into it. He really is amazing in that class."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Well," sighed Corrine as she closed her book. "We should probably head to the Apothecary to get some ingredients and to Flourish and Blotts to get new books."

"That's really all we need, right?" Selene looked at everyone else, who nodded.

Together the four girls headed off to Flourish and Blotts, where they had no idea that they would meet four boys who just happened to be getting their supplies on the same day.

"James, why do we have to get new books every year?" whined Sirius as James stacked books onto the already tall stack that Sirius was holding in his arms.

"Because," sighed James as he stacked _Advanced Charms for Dueling _onto the load. "Our school is too dumb to do like the Muggle schools and have class sets."

"That isn't true," interjected Remus Lupin as he tucked _Astronomy and its Uses _under his arm. "If they did that then the First Years would end up owing at least five galleons in their first month from blowing up books, or spilling ink on them, or some other weird accident."

"You have a point, Remus," said Peter as he grabbed _Potion Tips for the Not-So-Talented. _"And at least we get to write in our books since they are ours. And you can always sell them to the younger kids too."

James simply shrugged as him, Sirius, Remus and Peter went up to the counter to pay for their books just as Lily and her friends walked into Flourish and Blotts.

"Well, well, well, Prongs, look who's here," Sirius smirked. He moved to give James the books, but as James wasn't paying attention, dropped them. "Dammit, Prongs, you were supposed to take those!" Sirius picked up the books and set them on the counter. "Hey Lily!" He waved at the red head.

Lily looked towards Sirius and scowled.

"Speak of the devil," chuckled Selene.

"I know, right," laughed Alyssa. "Hey Sirius!" Alyssa waved back at him, then began to walk over towards the boys. "How's your summer been?"

"Considering the fact that I live with this dunce," Sirius jabbed an elbow at James. "It's pretty good. Yours?"

Alyssa shrugged. "Can't complain. Didn't get Head Girl, but hey, I wouldn't really expect it, especially after that whole prank on Slughorn during our Potions final."

Sirius laughed his bark-like laugh. "Man, that was fun. You know we have a months worth of detention from McGonagall for that, right?"

Alyssa nodded and the rest of the girls had come over to where she stood.

"Have you found that book that Professor Bright wanted us to get for Astronomy?" Selene asked Remus.

Remus nodded. "Yeah, I did." He held up his copy of _Astronomy and its Uses_. "I found it next to the Transfiguration books, actually."

"Could you come show me?" Selene asked, flipped her long black pony tail over her shoulder.

While Remus and Selene headed off to the section where he found their Astronomy book, and Sirius and Alyssa plotted for their Seventh Year Pranks, James, Peter, Lily, and Corrine looked at each other confused.

"So," muttered Corrine as she watched James buy his books, and then Peter put his on the counter. "Anybody know who made Head Boy yet? We know Lily got Head Girl."

James' face turned red. "Really, Lily? That's awesome!"

"Yeah," piped up Peter. "Especially since James got Head Boy."

"You idiot, Wormtail!" James smacked Peter on the back of the head.

"Did you really, James?" Lily asked, slightly skeptical.

James nodded. "Yeah. Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you are."

Lily smiled. Somehow James didn't seem to be as much of an idiot as he used to be. But then again, the day was still young.

Half an hour later, the eight of them walked out of Flourish and Blotts with several heavy books and bags.

"So where else do you girls have to go?" Sirius asked Alyssa.

"I think Selene wanted to stop by the Apothecary. Or maybe that was Corrine."

"That was me," said Corrine. "I wanted to pick up some stuff for the Verituserum that my mum was making, but I forgot my list. I feel totally dumb for doing that."

Lily looked at the sun that was beginning to set. "That's alright, though, it's getting late anyway."

Selene nodded. "I should probably be heading home. I'll see you on September first, Remus." Selene then Apparated away, followed by Remus, Corrine, and Alyssa.

"See you back at the house, James," said Sirius before he Apparated as well.

James and Lily were left standing alone, both in silence.

"Well," said James attempting to break the silence. "I guess I'll see you on the train. We get first dibs at the snack trolley you know."

Lily smiled. "Yeah, I forgot about that actually. Well, I'll see you on the first. Bye, James."

James was left standing in the middle of Diagon Alley, completely dumbstruck. It had only been five minutes ago that he had realized that Lily had started calling him "James" instead of the usual "Potter". What was that supposed to mean? He shook his head. Probably nothing. Of course, Sirius would tell him that it's because Lily is finally realizing how madly in love with James she really is. Which, of course, was totally foolish.

Author's Note: Thank you everyone for reading this chapter as well! I'm really on a writing roll today and I love that. Anyways, please remember to review. Any input would be amazing and very much appreciated. :)

Aeorith


	3. Back to Hogwarts

"Come on, Alyssa, if you don't hurry, we won't be able to get a good car!" Selene called back to Alyssa as she struggled with grabbing a handful of jelly slugs out of her purse before she hopped onto the Hogwarts express.

"I'll run ahead and save us a car," sighed Corrine with a flip of her sandy brown hair.

"Make sure you get enough room for everyone," chimed Alyssa. "Sirius said that he, Remus and Peter wanted to sit with us since James wouldn't be with them."

Corrine nodded and rolled her eyes as she hopped into the first train car that caught her eye and quickly found enough empty seats while Alyssa ran behind her and Selene, stuffing the last of her jelly slugs in her mouth.

"You could have shared," sighed Selene as Alyssa swallowed her last slug.

"Sorry," Alyssa shrugged with a meek smile. "You didn't ask. Oh, hey, there's Sirius!"

Alyssa hopped out of her seat and stuck her head out of the window, waving at Sirius and his friends.

"Hey, Sirius! We saved you guys room with us in our car!"

"Ok!" Sirius called back, grinning. "I'll send Remus up. Peter lost something and I told him I would use my super human senses to find it." Sirius gave Alyssa a wink, knowing that she had no idea how serious he was.

"That Sirius is too attractive for his own good," sighed Selene. "It's a good think both of you are Beaters on the house team, at least."

"Yeah, they're both a pair of bludgers."

Everyone turned as Lily walked into the car with a grin. "Nice to see you kids. James and I are allowed to wander around until it's time to leave. Then we have to go back to our car, meet with the Prefects, and watch out for trouble makers."

"You aren't going to have to worry about that," grinned Alyssa. "I mean, Sirius wouldn't dare do something without James. The teachers don't have much pity on him when he gets caught."

"Rightly so," said Corrine as she looked up from her book. "Nice to see that you were able to get away from your duties for a while, Lily."

Lily sat down next to Selene and Corrine and told them all about the Head's car.

"It's very nice inside," she began. "The seats are so comfortable. I mean, these ones are nice and all, but the ones in our car are so much softer. Not to mention there is a table with all sorts of snacks and a bucket of never-melting ice filled with butterbeer and bottles of water."

"Mmm, it does sound nice," sighed Alyssa. "I can taste the sweet taste now."

Lily laughed as Alyssa closed her eyes and licked her lips. "You do know that I could bring you a bottle. Well, I would if there were enough anyway."

"Ah well," Alyssa sighed and looked at Lily with massive puppy eyes.

Lily shook her head and stood up. "Right, well, I need to be heading back. The train leaves in like five minutes."

As Lily turned to leave, Sirius, Remus and Peter came bursting in the door.

"Um, nice to see you guys too."

"Lucius Malfoy is such a prat," panted Remus. "I swear, we are going to really get him back good."

"What did he do this time?" asked Alyssa furiously. "I swear, we'll curse him so bad, that he'll be seeing house elves until next Christmas."

Lily sighed and waved good-bye to her friends before quickly ducking out into the hallway.

"Hey, you!"

Lily looked up and flattened herself against the wall as a Second year darted past her, obviously in trouble.

"Hey, if I can you with that Fanged Frisbee one more time, I'm going to hex you into pieces and lock you in Filch's underwear drawer!"

James Potter leaned his shoulder against the wall, clutching a stitch in his side.

"James, you know we can't hex students, even if we are Head Girl and Boy," said Lily, choking back her laughter, but unable to keep back a smile.

"Yeah," panted James with a devilish grin. "But I highly doubt the little bugger knows that."

Lily chuckled. "Come on, lets head back to our compartment."

James looked up at her with surprise. "Lily Evans, if only you knew how many devious thoughts that those few words have just now inspired in my brain."

"Yeah, I would probably hex you into pieces," sighed Lily. She looked away from James so he couldn't see her smile. For some unexplainable reason, she found it amusing.

"So," began James once they made it back to the compartment reserved for the Head Girl and Boy. "Are you still going to be on the Quidditch team this year?"

"I hope to be," Lily put her purse down on one of the seats. "I mean, we do have our N.E.W.T.'s, so if the classes don't stress me too much, I'll try."

James breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. We really need good Chaser's this year."

"I know! Especially after Ella and Evan left. If I am Chaser this year, I hope that whoever makes it along with me works as well together as those two did."

"Oh, we are not having a repeat of our Fourth year Quidditch team." James shook his head. "No way."

Lily nodded. "I mean, you would have figured that if the two of us could have cooperated together, then anybody could have."

"I know, right?" James yawned as he stretched out across his seat.

"You might not want to get too comfortable," Lily pointed to the window as she stood up. "We'll be there soon."

James groaned and let his head thump back against the seat.

"And don't look while I'm changing!" Lily snapped as she used her wand to magic up a curtain between them. "You might as well change too."

"First years, please follow Hagrid!" James shouted to the few First year stragglers who had managed to mingle in with the older students. "In case you don't know, he's the really big man with a beard!"

"James," Lily hissed. "Be nice. Second years, please come this way, you won't be taking the boats this year!"

It was about half an hour before Lily and James had finally settled in their carriage with the two carriages behind them containing the prefects. Gryffindor sat with Hufflepuff while the irritated Ravenclaws took their seats next to the Slytherins.

"At least Ravenclaw and Slytherin have one thing in common," muttered James when he caught the looks of the Ravenclaw's.

"Oh really, what might that be?" asked Lily.

"They both think they're better than everyone else."

"That isn't true!" Lily huffed. After all, she had nearly been placed in Ravenclaw.

James shrugged and didn't say another word the whole trip. He assumed that Lily had dismissed his behavior to his hunger, but he didn't say much once they had reached the Great Hall either.

"James, what's the matter with you?" asked a concerned Sirius. "It's ten minutes into dinner and you aren't on your third helping yet."

"Really, James, it is a bit odd," added Remus. "Although your digestion will probably be a lot better in the morning."

Alyssa coughed into her glass of pumpkin juice, careful not to spew it all over the table.

James just stood up, obviously irritated. "Look, I'm just not feeling well. I'm going to bed."

"You can't do that, James," Sirius shouted after him, but James didn't look back. He just walked out of the Great Hall. "What's wrong with him?" Sirius turned his attention to Lily. "You, Lily, what did you do to my precious buddy James?"

Lily shrugged. "I didn't do anything."

"James is probably just-" Selene began, but then cut off as Dumbledore stood up to speak. Everyone listened raptly to Dumbledore's words, especially since odd things had been happening in the recent months. Everyone that is, except for Lily.

What had she done to make James act so oddly? He certainly seemed long over his childish crush on her, but it was almost a shame, especially since he'd matured a great deal over the summer. Lily shook her head. What was she thinking? Potter was finally over her! Thank goodness!

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update. Work has caught up with me. :( Gah, dumb work. Anyways, I shall work on the next chapter right away. Please leave reviews!

Aeorith


	4. Welcome Back: Luck and Flying

"Gosh, Lily, why do you insist on waking me up so early?" James rolled over and pulled his feather pillow over his head.

"You idiot, James!" Lily grabbed the pillow and hopelessly tried to pulled it away from James. "If you don't get your scrawny, Quidditch playing, Snitch catching buttocks out of bed, you're going to be late for your first class, which, need I remind you, is with Slughorn."

James said something that was muffled by his mattress and his pillow, but judging by the crude hand sign that followed, he didn't care too much about school at the moment.

"Ugh," Lily sighed with a slight pant. "I think I actually feel some form of pity for Sirius and Remus now, especially if they were the ones waking your fat rear end up every morning."

With that, Lily stormed out of the his room and into the common room. She had imagined that it would be nice for her to have a common room to herself, but in the morning it was relatively lonely.

As Lily grabbed her bag, James rushed out of his room.

"Wouldn't want to be late for Advanced Potions, now, would we?"

Lily found herself staring at a now fully dressed and ready to go James. How the hell did he do that? Lily tutted to herself. After many years of practise procrastinating as long as humanly possible before he can not make it to class on time.

"Just so you know, you missed breakfast," sighed Lily as she ran after James outside their portrait hole.

James ran down one of the staircases and Lily hopped on before it decided to move again. "Wow, a new record."

"What the devil are you talking about?"

Lily ran after James as they finally reached the first floor, then headed off towards the staircases that lead to the dungeons where Potions was held.

"Sirius and I had contests to see who could sleep in the longest. I just broke my record." James almost skidded to a stop outside of the Potions class room and leaned against the wall. "Of course, I plan on ending those games now that I've accepted the position of Head Boy." James grinned smugly.

Lily sighed as they entered the Potions class room.

"Miss Evans and Mr. Potter," Slughorn sat at his desk, as did the rest of the students in their year taking Advanced Potions. "I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost."

"As a matter of fact, Professor, Evans and I got stuck in this room, you see. We'd gotten so distracted with our previous activities, that when my watch beeped and alerted me that if I didn't run right then that I would miss your class, we had to run down here faster than Professor McGonagall did when Snape got transfigured into a fully functioning shower."

Lily felt her cheeks burning as her classmates sniggered.

"Oh, what sort of 'activities' where the two of you caught up in?" Narcissa Black hissed, causing the rest of the Slytherin girls to smirk. "I always thought you were such a goody-goody, Evans. About time you got some action."

Lily tried her hardest to hold back as snarl and simply sneered at Narcissa as she walked rather briskly back to the table where Corrine and Selene were sitting.

"Now that's enough," said Slughorn, finally taking control of the class. "Today we're going to attempt to make a bit of Felix. Maybe everyone will get it right and no one will end up losing their ears."

"Aw, Professor, we ended up getting Peter's ears back on! See?" Sirius pointed to the side of Peter Pettigrew's head. Alyssa chuckled and nodded while Peter's face turned a beet red. Slughorn simply smiled and waved his wand at the chalk board.

"The directions are on the board, the ingredients, in the cupboard."

"So," said Corrine curiously when her, Lily and Selene had gotten all the things they needed for their potion. "What exactly took you so long?"

"Well," began Lily curtly. "POTTER thought that it would be a good idea to see how long he could sleep in." Lily glared at James.

"Did he really?" asked Sirius from the table next to theirs. "Finally beat your record, Prongs?"

James gave a thumbs up as he listened to Remus give him directions, telling him which ingredients to add and how much. As much as he loved the idea of being able to become an Auror, he hated Potions with a passion, only, of course, because it was the only class he even struggled with.

Selene shook her head and added exactly one half an ounce of dragon liver to her cauldron.

"He isn't so bad once you get him away from Sirius," Lily murmured to her friend as she carefully sliced the lacewing flies in half.

"Hm," Selene looked at Lily briefly. "Interesting.

At the end of the hour, Lily rushed out of Potions as soon as she could. She simply had to get away from James, although in the back of her mind she knew that it was Narcissa and her group of Slytherins that she wanted to avoid. It was only until she arrived at her next class, Advanced Charms, that she realized that not only did Gryffindors have Potions with the Slytherins, but every class, at least on Mondays.

"I swear, I'm going to go insane if I have to deal with any more girls hating my guts because of James!" Lily slammed her palm on the table at lunch, almost knocking over a glass of pumpkin juice.

"You're pretty well-liked, Lily, really," said Corrine.

"Except around Valentine's Day!" Alyssa added, taking a breath from snogging Sirius. She quickly returned to her previous task, clearly missing Lily's glare.

"Honestly, Lily, the only girls who aren't fond of you, are the ones in Slytherin," sighed Selene.

"And that's only because they want James all for themselves," added Remus, sitting down next to Lily. "Honestly, you should hear the guys in Slytherin talk about how much they hate James. Of course they don't hate him as much as they loathe Malfoy."

"But Malfoy's so popular," said Lily, slightly confused.

"Yeah, but the Slytherin guys hate him for having the girls' attention all the time, not to mention he's one of their best Beater's."

Lily sighed as she pushed away her plate and stood up.

"I'm going to head down to the Quidditch pitch."

"Hey, while you're there, can you ask James to give me a hand with Charms work later tonight?" Peter asked Lily before she walked away. Lily nodded and before anyone could say anything else, she rushed out of the Great Hall.

"Mm, finally alone," Lily sighed as she grabbed her broom, the latest Shooting Star model, out of the broomshead. Lily slung her leg over her broom and pushed off the ground, glad that she had worn jeans under her robes instead of a skirt like the other girls.

As Lily soared over the rooftops of Hogwarts, she had plenty of time to wonder and think about just the days events. It was, of course, a give in that people would have changed, but she never expected to see such a drastic change in James.

_Why am I calling him 'James'?_ Lily thought, rather irritated. Even in her thoughts she'd never said 'James'. It was always 'Potter'. Maybe that was her way of avoiding any sort of personal feelings with James? Lily shook her head. That was foolish. But if it was really so dumb, then why was she getting butterflies in her stomach just thinking about James?

"Oy, Lily!"

Lily looked down and saw James flying towards him on his old Thunderbolt. Sure, his broom was a little old and out of date, but for some reason it was just as fast as the newer models.

"What are you doing flying out here?"

Lily shrugged. "Clearing my head. I didn't know you took it upon yourself to lord over the skies, James. You have every girls heart in Hogwarts to lord over, isn't that enough?"

James grinned. "Well," he ran his fingers through his already messy black hair. "Not all girls succumb to my amazing charm, you know."

Lily fought back a smile. She knew that James could only be talking about her.

"Why, James," said Lily with mock surprise. "You've grown up a bit. I must say, someone must contact the Daily Prophet and let them know that one of the infamous Marauders has decided to become a little more adult."

James grinned and followed Lily as she flew to the top of the Astronomy tower.

"I found a small place up here to relax," said Lily once she'd landed on a flat patch of roof that even James didn't know existed. "I've been coming up here since my Fourth year." Lily sat down on a blanket that had obviously been fixed with a Permanent Sticking charm.

"Oh, so you mean that time when you went missing for a night and hexed Colin Billings, you really were up here and not with him?" James asked. He could feel the color creeping into his cheeks.

Lily looked at James in astonishment. "That was you? You're the reason his nose will forever have that pink shine to it?"

James shook his head. "Now I wouldn't say forever, just a really, really long time. Besides, he was going around saying how good you were in the sack the next day! I don't think any decent guy who cared about a girl would let someone go around talking like that."

"He was my boyfriend at the time. And the reason I broke up with him was for saying all that dung."

James nodded and tried not to look at Lily. Right now, all he really wanted to do was snog her senseless, but she would never go for it. Hell, she probably wouldn't even go for a nice kiss on the cheek.

"Good heaven's, James," laughed Lily. "If you could see the look on your face!"

"What?" James blurted out nervously, still trying his hardest to avoid any sort of contact whatsoever with Lily's gracefully almond shaped and emerald coloured eyes.

"You look like you've been force-fed a handful of vomit flavoured Bertie Botts beans." Lily leaned in closer to James.

_What are you doing Lily? This is insanely dumb!_ Lily's mind tried screaming at her, reminding her of everything that James had done over the years, but for some reason she couldn't stop herself.

James could feel his pulse in his throat as Lily leaned closer. Her face was so near to his, and he could smell the sweet floral scent of her shampoo. For a second he wasn't sure what was going on, then he realized that Lily was only going to meet him halfway. Well, if he was going to only end up getting smacked across the face with a broom anyway, he might as well go for it.

James looked into Lily's vivid green eyes as he pressed his lips gently against hers, and felt himself get lost in them. The surprise, the warmth, the joy...it was all there in Lily's almond shaped emerald orbs and James had finally found a way to get lost in them, without being dumbstruck in the middle of class at least.

A/N: Hey everyone! Ok, I really tried to make this chapter long, since I like long chapters but am completely incapable of writing them. Anyways, tell me what you think, don't forget to review! 3 days until Deathly Hollows by the way. I'm going as Bellatrix Lestrange to a Harry Potter party. :)

Aeorith


	5. Quidditch and Kisses

Over the next few days, Lily avoided eye contact with most people and was almost as reclusive as Remus Lupin had been in his first three years at Hogwarts. Of course, once Saturday finally came around, Lily had to somewhat come out of her shell, especially since she had Quidditch try-outs later that afternoon.

"Lily," Remus sat down next to her at breakfast that Saturday. "I was wondering if you had any idea what was up with James?"

"What do you mean?" asked Lily, trying to keep any sort of emotion out of her voice and facial expression.

Remus shrugged. "Well, I don't mean anything at all, except for the fact that Sirius won't get off my back about how you managed to destroy our criminal mastermind. A week into school and the Marauders haven't pulled one prank yet. It's embarrassing, Lily, and I must admit, it's bothering me, the good student that I am."

Lily's firmly pursed lips cracked into a grin. "Ok, you do have a point, but honestly, I have no idea what's wrong with James."

"He says you've been avoiding him. What happened between you two?"

Lily flushed as she stabbed at a piece of sausage covered in ketchup.

"Absolutely nothing." She popped the bite sized piece in her mouth.

Remus shook his head. "Now, both you know and I know that something went on. Honestly, Lily, if you're finally realizing that James isn't as big of an arrogant git that you always thought him to be, then just say so."

"It's not that, Remus," Lily's face flushed even more and she pushed away her unfinished plate. The whole topic had completely ruined her appetite. "I'm just not sure what I'm thinking right now, and I don't want to hurt James."

"You did something that made him get his hopes up. He can't even make a Patronus, he's so gloomy."

Lily sighed and shook her head. She wasn't sure, at all, if what she had done that night on the roof of the Astronomy tower was such a good thing. It wasn't as if her and James had snogged the way Sirius often did with his girlfriends, but the kiss was a little more than chaste. Not to mention, she couldn't deny that she enjoyed it and part of her had been longing to do it for months, at least ever since she'd gotten into the fight with Snape.

"So, Lily," Remus poked Lily in the shoulder with a banana. "Are you going to explain, or am I going to have to sell my soul to Snape so he'll make me some Veritaserum, and then I can find out everything from you?"

"Fine, Remus, I'll tell you!" Lily tutted her tongue in annoyance. "I went flying a few days ago to get used to my broom again, and to get some time to think to myself. James was also outside, we flew up to the top of the Astronomy tower, and ended up kissing. Happy that I told you?"

Remus fought back a laugh, but couldn't hold back a slight smirk-like grin. "Aha, I knew it. You do like him, don't you?"

"It's a bit early to say, Remus. I just don't know." Lily shook her head. "I feel really bad about it, only because I'm uncertain. I do like James as a friend, though. I don't know if that's going to be any comfort to him, but I care about him, really."

Remus stood up and tucked his book under his arm. "I'm glad you do. Why don't you tell him that?"

"Ok, so I guess everyone who's trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team is here?" asked James to the large crowd of eager Gryffindor's that all stood in front of him. He knew, of course, that about half the female's who arrived for try-outs really had no intention of actually making the team. Truth be told, he knew most of them couldn't even sit squarely on a broom.

"Alright, well, everyone sort out into what position you would like to try out for. Seekers, stand with Madeline, Keepers stand with Peter, Beaters stand next to Sirius, and Chasers stand with-" James noticed that Lily had yet to arrive for try-outs. What if their late night escapade had scared her off, even from Quidditch? James felt the blood drain from his face, unsure what to do with all the little kids looking up at him for directions.

"Hey James!" called Lily as she ran onto the Quidditch pitch with her broom. "Sorry, I lost track of time!" Lily came to a stop, out of breath. "So where did you ask the Chasers to stand?"

James simply pointed at the students trying for Chaser.

"Come on, you lot," said Lily with a wave of her hand.

"Right," said James once all the groups had been sorted. "I guess we'll have the Seekers go first. Now, remember, if you don't get the position you audition for right off the bat, there is still a chance I've assigned you to another one. The list will be posted after auditions in the Common Room."

The Seekers went first, lead by Madeline, who was James' back up Seeker and manager of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She enjoyed playing, but not nearly enough on the other positions to take one full time. Several of the Seeker-hopefuls did well, but none held a candle to James or Madeline, and all of them were sorely disappointed when they were turned away.

"Hey, James, I think that Micha kid was pretty good," said Madeline as she was walking past James with her group on their way to the stands. "Although you might want to consider him for Chaser."

"He's a first year isn't he?" asked James curiously.

Madeline nodded. "Want me to tell him that he should come out next year?"

"Yeah. And make sure to tell him that it's rare that First Year's make the team, that way he doesn't feel bad."

Once all the Seeker hopefuls had settled into the stands, Peter took the Keeper group into the air. James was very impressed with the batch of Keepers and it was hard to choose, but he had eventually narrowed it down.

The Beaters, lead by Sirius, did just as well, and James had no problem picking out someone else to play with Sirius.

As Lily lead the Chaser hopefuls onto the pitch, James felt his stomach jump. She just looked like such a natural with her dark auburn hair waving in the wind as she scored a goal past Peter, who was a backup Keeper, and helped Madeline with management.

"Nice one, Lily," said James as Lily landed. "It's hard to pick someone else to work with you when you steal the spotlight, though."

Lily flushed. "Actually, I thought I worked best with Collins. And you know Blunt, the kid you thought would work well with Sirius, I think Alyssa would work better with Sirius and Blunt with me."

"What if he doesn't want to be a Chaser?"

"Oi, Blunt!" Lily shouted to the lanky Fifth Year who was chatting with a group of friends."

"Yeah?" said Blunt as he ran over to Lily and James.

"Would you have a problem playing Chaser?" James asked curiously.

Blunt shook his head. "No, why? I thought you wanted me to play Beater?"

"I watched you fly and I think you'd work better with Collins and I than Alyssa would," said Lily plainly. "I asked James to ask you about it."

"You've made the team regardless, so don't worry about that," James reassured him.

"No, I'll play Chaser," beamed Blunt. "You've been playing for years, right? You probably know more what you're looking for than I do."

Blunt ran off to his friends before Lily grinned at James.

"What do you have up your sleeve, Lily?" James asked suspiciously.

Lily shrugged. "Nothing." Actually, Lily had thought that Sirius and Alyssa had a thing for each other, except neither of them would say it out loud. Alyssa was practically a Marauder herself, what with how often she was involved in their pranks. Besides, Alyssa and Sirius thought on the same level.

Jame shook his head, not quite believing Lily. Ah well, he would worm the answer out of her later.

Back in the Gryffindor Common room, James was swarmed as he posted the new Quidditch team list.

"So who did you end up choosing?" asked Remus, dipping his quill in an inkpot as he finished an Ancient Runes essay.

"Well, I'm still Seeker, naturally. McGonagall said she didn't want me choosing a new one, but we had to audition them anyways."

"What about the Keeper?" asked Peter, biting the head off a Chocolate Frog.

"This kid named Allen. Seemed good enough. And before you ask, Sirius and Alyssa are Beaters, and Lily, Collins, and Blunt are Chasers."

"Woah, I'm working with Alyssa this year?" Sirius asked, surprised.

James raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, what's wrong with it? Lily thinks you two would work well together, and now that I think about it, she's right."

Sirius groaned and smacked his palm against his forehead. Remus simply chuckled and went back to working on his essay.

"Hey, James."

James looked up and saw Lily leaning over the back of the chair he was sitting in. Her face was so close that he could smell the strawberry scent from her lipgloss.

"Want to go back to our Common Room? I actually have something I would like to discuss with you."

"Uh, s-sure Lily," stammered James, his face turning beet red.

Sirius winked at him. "Go get 'em, Prongs."

"It's nothing like that," tutted Lily as her and James walked out of the Gryffindor portrait hole.

"So," asked James when they were a floor below the Gryffindor's. "What did you want to discuss with me?" He secretly hoped it had something to do with what happened on the roof of the Astronomy tower.

"Well, it was as to why I wanted Sirius and Alyssa working together as Beaters." Lily didn't look at James. She knew that if she did, everything would come tumbling out.

"Oh."

"I actually think that Sirius and Alyssa have a thing going on with each other."

"Really?" James stopped walking and looking at Lily like she was suggesting that the Moon was not only made of cheese, but that of the cheddar variety. Then he thought about it. "Now that you mention it, though, Sirius does treat Alyssa differently from the other girls."

Lily nodded. "He's more careful with her. I think he really likes her."

"And when I mentioned that he would be playing with Alyssa, his face got all pink."

Lily chuckled. "Alyssa is going to get a kick out of this if she finds out."

"Why?" James asked curiously.

"Well," Lily looked down at her canvas sneakers that she bought in a Muggle shop the year before. "The thing is, ever since our Third Year, Alyssa has been trying to hook me up with you. She would be very amused to imagine me trying to hook her up."

"Ah, a turning of the tables," James nodded. "I wonder if her and Sirius were working together?"

Lily laughed. "Probably." Lily sat down against the wall next to the Room of Requirement. "I mean, it really wouldn't surprise me. But honestly, she was the one who convinced me this summer that you weren't as much of an arrogant git as you used to be.

James laughed loudly as he sat down next to Lily. "Wow, I never imagined that you would stop thinking that about me."

"Truth is, about the other night," began Lily. "I'm not going to say it was dumb of me, but I'm not sure how I feel about you at the moment. I do know that I care about you as a good friend, a lot. Although I hate how you were always so mean to Severus."

"He's mean to everyone," James said defensively.

"Only because you and Sirius and Peter aren't exactly the nicest people to him. I used to be really good friends with him. He didn't live far from where I lived as a kid."

"Really?"

Lily nodded. "I can't forgive him for calling me 'Mudblood' though. That sort of ended our good friendship, but he still attempts to talk to me."

"Lily," James looked down at his folded hands and then felt a huge amount of regret for his treatment of Snape over the past six years. "I look back on that and, yeah, we were playing pranks, but we didn't mean any real harm. I just hate how, ever since our Third Year, when he found out about Remus, he's been so mean to all of us. I can't let him treat Remus that way, Lily."

Lily nodded. "Well, can you at least stop picking on him as much? Or only when he does mean stuff to Remus anyway."

"Yeah, I'll lay off of him."

"Thanks, James," Lily leaned over and kissed James on the cheek. He could have sworn his heart was about to burst from joy. "Well, I guess we should head back to our Common Room. It's gotten a little late."

James nodded and followed after Lily, repeating her kiss in his mind as many times as he could, and hoping that it wouldn't leave him, even in his dreams that night.

A/N: Hey everyone! Well, I hope this chapter was nice and long enough for everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've kind of been having some family/friends troubles, not to mention reading this AMAZING Lupin/Tonks fic called Moondance. You should look it up if you like that pairing.

Anyways, please don't forget to review. I hope everyone enjoyed the 7th book! I finished it in 7 hours and 50 minutes. :)


	6. A Trade and Tea

The weeks passed quickly at Hogwarts, mainly due to the large amount of homework that most of the Seventh years, at least the ones who took advanced classes or planned to become Aurors, had dumped upon them week after week.

"Ugh, I swear," Lily threw down her quill in frustration, ink splattering her fourth copy of her Transfiguration essay. "I can't write this bloody essay to save my life!"

James looking up at her from across their common room, a hairbrush beating him repeatedly on the head.

"At least you don't have to deal with this stupid thing!" James pointed at the brush angrily. "I don't know how I got an Exceed's Expectations on my Charms O.W.L. I can't get this bloody hairbrush to quit hitting me!"

"James..." Lily looked at him curiously. "You're good at Transfiguration, right?"

"Ouch! Yes, Lily, but I have no idea what that has to do with anything!" James grabbed his Charms book, opened it and lay it on his head. The brush proceeded to beat the book instead of James' head.

"Let's trade homework, you idiot!"

James let the book slide from his grasp as he looked at Lily, amazed at what she's just said. "Ouch!"

Lily grabbed her wand off her desk, pointed at the brush, muttered something and the brush, instead of beating James' head, dropped on it and rolled onto the floor.

"Wow, Lily," James gaped at her. "I knew you were really good at Potions, almost as good as Snape, but you're amazing at Charms."

Lily sighed. "James, you realize that you don't have to be fancy with Charms. It's all very simple."

"But I didn't know what spell Flitwick put on that brush. How else was I supposed to get it from beating my brains out?"

"_Finite Incantatem, _remember?"

James' face burst into a confused form that was all too common, especially in Charms. "Didn't we learn that, like, Second Year? Why would I need a spell like that?"

Lily sighed and picked up the brush. "Even if you didn't know what kind of charm Flitwick had put on the brush, _Finite Incantatem _should cancel it out. It's almost full-proof, really."

"Hm, very interesting," James murmured as he continued to glare at the brush. "So, what are you going over in Transfiguration?"

Lily groaned and showed James her paper. It was bad enough that McGonagall usually gave them loads of homework, but a thirty inch essay on Animagus transformations was tough, even for her standards.

James chuckled as he read her paper.

"What's so funny?" snapped Lily.

"Oh, nothing. I just know a lot about this subject. Sirius does too, actually. You're on the right track, you just need to know about the animal that the witch or wizard transforms into."

"That's the thing!" Lily let her head thump on her desk. "I can't figure it out. I've looked up everything on Animagus transformations, but they really don't tell us anything, not to mention McGonagall won't let us use the restricted section in the library. She said she wanted us to figure it out on our own."

"That is so mean, especially for something so easy," James muttered. Lily glared and him, so he continued to explain before the little Charms expert decided to hex him into a pile of mince meat. "You see, no one knows why, exactly, but the animal chooses the wizard, I guess you could say. Like your personal traits and what-not. Get it?"

Lily nodded. "Yeah, but why won't they just tell us something that simple in text books?" asked Lily, writing down as much as she could from what James had just told her.

"So kids aren't encouraged to become Animagus illegally I suppose." James smirked, but Lily, thankfully, didn't catch it. "I mean, it's really dangerous and can go horribly wrong if one mistake is made. Kind of like making a big mistake on a Polyjuice potion, only ten times worse."

Lily shuddered. "Done," she said as she wrote the last word to her essay.

"That was fast," James looked at her, amazed.

"I only had like five more inches to write."

James resisted the urge to smack himself on the forehead. Lily was spazzing out over five inches? Him and Sirius would have found some way to extend what they had written. Then again, the fact that they were unauthorized Animagus' themselves would have made that essay a lot easier.

"Well," Lily sealed her scroll with her wand and tucked in her school bag. "We still have about three hours before curfew. We could go patrol the corridors for a while."

James shook his head. "Nope, I have a better idea."

Lily looked at him curiously. "What are you thinking of, you troublesome Marauder?"

"Have you ever been to the kitchens, Lily?" James asked.

Lily shook her head. "No. Why would I go to the kitchens anyway?"

"Lily Evans, I shall show you why you want to go to the kitchens." James grabbed her hand and lead her all the way down to the bottom floor, passed the Hufflepuff portrait and arrived at a rather curious one of a bowl of fruit. James reached out and tickled the green pair and the portrait door swung open.

"Up you get," James helped Lily through the portrait hole and climbed in after her, closing the portrait behind him quickly.

"Wow," gasped Lily as she looked around the massive kitchen. The four house tables were set with silverware and the house elves ran around, preparing for the next morning's breakfast.

"Mr. Potter, sir!" a small elf near James' feet squeaked.

"Hey, Bonnie!" James greeted the elf kindly. "How many times have I told you to keep your pillow-case apron washed?"

Bonnie looked down at her feet nervously. "House elves are not supposed to always look clean and proper like you wizards, Mr. Potter."

"Since when? I'm going to bring you down some new pillow-cases, Bonnie, and they're going to be clean, whether you like it or not."

Bonnie nodded. "If Mr. Potter wishes it."

James beamed and Lily looked at him curiously.

"Oh, Bonnie here helped me get out of trouble my Second Year," James grinned sheepishly. "One of our pranks when kind of bad and she saved Sirius and I a huge amount of detention."

"Bonnie had to shut her ears in the oven for not telling Master Filch, but Mr. Potter and Mr. Black brought her some ointment and have been kind to her ever since."

Lily beamed at James and looked down at the house elf. "It was very kind of you to help them, Bonnie. And you, James, why didn't you ever tell me about her?"

"If I did, would you have gone out with me?"

Lily laughed. "Probably not, but you never know. I might not have thought you were such a jerk."

"Mr. Potter, sir," Bonnie piped up. "Is this Miss Evans? The girl you've told me about?"

"What's he told you about me, Bonnie?" asked Lily eagerly while James stammered in the background.

"That you are the most beautiful, talented and clever witch of his year, that your eyes are like fine emeralds and your hair like warm fire," swooned Bonnie. "Mr. Potter has such a poetic heart, Miss."

Lily felt her cheeks flush a bright pink, but was grateful for the roaring fire that illuminated everything and kept it unnoticed.

"Bonnie, can Lily and I just have some tea and cakes?" James stammered, feeling very embarrassed.

"Of course, Mr. Potter," Bonnie bowed and scuttled off to get some tea and cakes.

"Well," sighed Lily as her and James sat down at a vacant table, still feeling awkward about the whole conversation. "Bonnie seems sweet."

"She is," James said with a short cough afterwards. "Look, Lily, I didn't bring you down here to try to talk you into dating me. Bonnie just said that on her own."

"James," Lily placed her smaller hand atop his larger, more masculine one. "I don't mind, honestly. If you really said those things to Bonnie about me, than they're sweeter than anything anyone else has ever said."

James beamed. "I did, honestly. Of course, I have to make stuff like that sound a little less mushy around Sirius."

Lily leaned a little closer, just so that she could make out the detail of James' hazel eyes. The glasses really did suit him, in a way, and they made him look less childish, more grown up.

James tried so hard to keep his breathing calm, but Lily was so close to kissing him, he just wanted to lean in and claim her lips with his own, but he knew he couldn't do that. But what if that was what she wanted him to do?

"Bonnie has brought the tea and cakes, Sir and Miss!" Bonnie squeaked.

James and Lily leapt back from each other just as Bonnie set the tea tray and a large helping of various cakes onto the table as if they weren't just leaning across it a second before.

"Bonnie shall leave you to your tea. Just call if you need Bonnie." And with that the house elf rushed off to join the others.

Lily looked at James and gave a weak sort of laugh before she poured him, then herself, some tea and helped herself to a miniature e'claire.

"It really is rather nice here," Lily mused as she looked around the kitchen, watching the house elves cook and clean. "Although I wish they would at least wear clean pillow-cases."

"They refuse to," said James as he took a sip of his tea. "Dumbledore's been trying to get them to wash their pillow-cases forever, but they refuse to." James set down his cup and coughed. " 'Dirty things are a mark of a house elves enslavement!'" James imitated the squeaky voice of a house elf perfectly.

Lily laughed loudly. "James, why aren't you ever this funny around everyone else?"

"Aren't I?" James asked.

Lily shook her head. "Nope. You insist on picking on others and it humiliates them. It's not really funny to me."

"Oh," James looked down at the liquid swirling in his tea cup. "I only ever wanted your attention, you know."

Lily nodded and nibbled on a ginger cookie. "Well, if you had done something like this years ago, you just might have gotten it."

They were both silent as they finished their tea and the cakes they wanted to eat. James wrapped the cakes he wanted to keep with him in a piece of paper he Transfigured into a napkin, and they walked back up to their Common Room, way after curfew.

"Well," sighed Lily as her and James stepped through their portrait hole, lucky not to have been caught by Filch. "I had a marvelous time, James." She smiled at him and made her way to her bedroom.

James felt that clench in his stomach. He really wanted to kiss her, more than anything. He couldn't just run up to her and do it, but he didn't want to ask and be rejected.

"Um, Lily."

Lily turned around and looked at James, a smile still plastered on her face.

"Yes, James?"

"Um," James looked at his trainers nervously. "I was wondering, since we had such a nice evening, if maybe I could get a kiss?"

Lily laughed lightly, walked back over to James, kissed him on the lips gently and then bid him goodnight before he knew what had happened, leaving James in the middle of the Head's Common Room, a little shocked, very confused, and entirely happy.

A/N: Ok, I do realize that this is my second update in the day, but that's ok with me! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and please, please PLEASE review! I promise, I shall update much faster if you do. :)

Aeorith


	7. Halloween Jitters

The next few weeks at Hogwarts passed rather quickly, especially for the Seventh years, now adjusted to their new work load, and before long the weather had changed into the brisk coolness that came with Halloween.

"So, James," began Lily as her and James sat around the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room with Sirius, Remus and Alyssa. "I have a million Third Years asking me when the first Hogsmeade trip of the year is going to be. Do you have any idea?"

James shook his head.

"Don't we usually have the first one around Halloween?" asked Sirius, glancing at Alyssa as he said it.

Remus shook his head, figuring he was the only one who noticed since, although they might not have realized it themselves, Lily and James were making eyes at each other.

"Well," said Remus as he stood up, a thick book tucked under his arm. "Tell me when it is, and I may ask someone to go this year."

Sirius laughed, loud and barklike. "Since when do you ever ask girls to Hogsmeade?"

Remus sniffed. "Why must you make it sound like I'm gay, Sirius? You know very well that it's difficult for me to be in a relationship regarding the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" asked Alyssa.

James and Lily simply looked at each other, shrugged and continued talking about when they would try to plan the Hogsmeade trip for. Let Sirius deal with the little fire he started.

"Well, you see, Alyssa," said Sirius confidently. "My dear friend Moony is obsessed with getting the best grades possible. The thing is, he has a very hard time adjusting to reality, especially after reading about all those famous and amazing witches." Sirius tutted his tongue and shook his head. "He must think all the girls here to be as mundane as the Muggles."

Remus sighed and with a shake of his head walked up the staircase to the boys' dormitories.

"You know, Sirius," said Alyssa shyly. "I was wondering, if you don't already have plans, maybe you'd go to Hogsmeade with me this trip? Selene and Corrine mentioned something about meeting up with these guys at Madam Puddifoot's and I really can't stand that place."

"So, is Halloween ok for a Hogsmeade trip?" James asked Professor McGonagall eagerly.

"A lot of people are really hoping to go this year," added Lily.

Professor McGonagall looked at the two students sternly. For one, since when had Lily and James been on good terms with each other? Incidentally, that had been the reason that Dumbledore had chosen James over Remus, yet none of the other teachers, even Professor McGonagall, could imagine why.

"I'm sure that you are aware," she began sternly. "That there are rumors of a Dark wizard rising into power?"

Lily looked at James nervously, but James grinned.

"Well, everyone knows that as long as Dumbledore is here, we'll be safe! He defeated Grindlewald, right? No one would dare go against Dumbledore!"

Professor McGonagall sighed. "That is true, Potter, but Hogsmeade is not Hogwarts. Not to mention there have been disappearances all over Europe, and there was even an entire family murdered! Murdered in their own home, Potter, the whole lot, even children."

"Professor, why wasn't this in the Daily Prophet?" Lily asked. "It's their duty to report anything like this to the Wizarding World that way everyone will know to be on their guard."

"I agree with you entirely, Miss Evans, but the fact remains that the last thing that the Ministry of Magic wants on their hands is a mass panic. There's even been rumors of the Unforgivable Curses being seen again, and no one has used those curses for centuries! Even Gindlewald didn't touch those dreadful curses."

"Professor," said James seriously. "Shouldn't the students be told about this? Shouldn't they at least know that something is going on, at least be warned to be safe?"

"Mr. Potter, you know that Dumbledore would tell the school if he didn't have to worry about the rain of owls and howlers that would appear in his office for telling children the truth about what is going on."

James sniggered at the thought of Dumbledore swimming through his office, filled to the brim with owls and angry letters before he caught Lily's glare.

"Perhaps," began Lily, clearly in thought. "Perhaps this trip could only be fore Fifth Years and up? Fifth Years are better trained in Defensive magic than the Fourth and Third Years by a great amount."

"You know that the Fourth and Third Years would throw a fit," James pointed out exasperatedly.

"Well, better that than no Hogsmeade trip at all!" snapped Lily. She focused her green eyes back on Professor McGonagall. "James and I could go to each Common Room tonight and explain that due to a security measure, only Fifth Years and higher can go to Hogsmeade this trip. The disappearances have been covered in the Prophet, I believe."

Professor McGonagall looked at the two students in front of her. She had watched them grow up before her eyes, more-so James than Lily, and she had to admit that, if they were to cancel the Hogsmeade trip all together, it would cause more questions than outright saying that not allowing the younger students to go was a safety precaution until things were sorted out.

"Fine," sighed Professor McGonagall. "Set the trip for the thirty-first of October then."

When James and Lily had left Professor McGonagall's office and were far enough away, James let out a whoop of victory and punched the air.

"Man, Lily, you were brilliant!"

Lily flushed and shook her head. "It's only fair that we all be able to go. But honestly, James, a whole family murdered."

James nodded. "It honestly is a little hard to believe. I just hate how the Ministry is covering everything up. The public needs to know!"

"I agree."

Halloween soon came and before anyone could think, the older students were marching their way passed Filch with his menacing glare, all of them too excited about Hogsmeade.

"I'm so glad that I'm a Fifth year now," Lily overheard a Hufflepuff girl sigh to her obviously older boyfriend.

"So, Lily," James tackled her from behind, causing Lily to stumble but not fall. "Where are you headed?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "You are so lucky that we're in the presence of younger students, James, because any other time and I would have hexed you to pieces!"

"Aw, Lily, don't be so uptight," said Sirius as he passed James and Lily with Alyssa clinging to his arm. "It's a Hogsmeade trip. Besides, James has been a good boy this whole year, you can allow him some fun."

"Honestly, Lily," laughed Alyssa. "Hey, why don't you and James come with me and Sirius to Madam Puddifoot's?"

"Last I checked you couldn't stand that place," grumbled Lily.

"Of course, but she's got me now," grinned Sirius confidently before him and Alyssa scampered off to Madam Puddifoots, more for the excuse to be all over each other than anything.

James laughed as his friend. "You know, they really are a very silly pair."

Lily shook her head. "At least they seem to finally be together. Do you want to go to Honeydukes first? They're having a huge Halloween special."

"You didn't even have to ask."

Before long, Lily and James were walking through Honeydukes, pondering over the thousands of candies to choose from.

"Do you know which Jelly Slugs flavor tastes the best?" Lily asked James

James shook his head. "They're candy, they all taste good to me. Why?"

"Oh, it's just that Jelly Slugs are supposed to be low fat, and I don't want to buy too many."

"Lily, you aren't fat, you're just athletic, and personally, it's better to have a girl who isn't a twig, as nice as they may look in the magazines. I dated a stick thin girl once." James sighed and shook his head. "Never again."

Lily grinned and turned away from the Jelly Slugs.

"Well, how about these assorted truffles?"

James peered at the chocolates. "What's magical about them?"

"Nothing," Lily laughed. "They're solid chocolate except for the centre which is filled with anything ranging from caramel to chocolate liquor."

James grabbed a box and added it to his stack. "Sounds good to me."

"No," Lily jumped and grabbed the box from James. "I'm buying them."

"Geez, since when are girls so eager to buy things when a guy is offering to pay?"

"Since me, that's when," Lily replied as she rushed to the cashier and grabbed a box of Sugar Quills before she paid.

"You know, I'm going to buy you something before we leave Hogwarts," James grumbled as he and Lily left Honeydukes.

Lily shook her head. "Oh no you won't."

"I promise you I will," James ran his fingers through his already mussed hair and made it even messier.

Lily grinned. "Hey, do you want to go to the Three Broomsticks and get some butterbeer or something?"

James shrugged. "I don't know. Actually, unless you let me pay, I don't think I will. You should probably go with that Lawrence guy from Ravenclaw, he lets you pay for stuff."

Lily huffed and grabbed James by the arm. "Fine. We're going to the Three Broomsticks, and you're paying for the butterbeer, but I'm buying lunch."

"Why, Lily," said James as Lily half drug him across Hogsmeade. "Would I dare say that you want to spend the afternoon with me?"

"Well do you want me to hex you instead? You know how good I am at Charms, my wand is made for them."

"No, my dear Lily, that's what my wand is made for," James said with a grin. Lily flushed as she caught on to what he'd said.

"You're a pervert, James!"

"I'm also a seventeen year old boy, who has also been lacking in female company for quite a while. Not my fault you didn't see me as anything other than a prat until this year."

Lily opened the door to the Three Broomsticks and shoved James in before her. "That's because you were nothing but a prat until this year." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully as they found their table amongst a large crowd of students.

"Well, it almost cost me an arm and a leg to get through the crowd with these things," sighed James as he placed the bottles of butterbeer on the table.

Lily laughed and took a sip from hers. "Well, I appreciate your willingness to surrender your limbs in order to bring me butterbeer."

"Oh, it's ok. There are tons of guys dying to get within arms reach of you once you go get food for lunch."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Lily, rather confused.

James sighed and took a long swig of butterbeer. "You honestly don't realize that half of the guy population is after your firm buttocks?"

Lily flushed even more than she had earlier. "What?"

"Every guy in almost every house is just dying to get a chance with you."

"Then why haven't I gotten many boyfriends over the years?" Lily asked, looking at James suspiciously.

"Oh, it has absolutely nothing with me turning Johnson's ears into carrots, I promise," James reassured her.

"That was you? I remember, it was after he gave me that valentine," sighed Lily.

James shook his head. "You're missing the point."

"Nope, I've got it. Promise."

It wasn't long before the festivities of Halloween were over. The teachers had decided to give the students all a half-day, since most of the school wasn't able to leave for Hogsmeade. Hours later, everyone was leaving the feast, their stomachs full of candies, pies, turkey and dressing.

"So, James," Sirius said when he'd managed to pull James aside. "How was your 'date' with Miss Evans?"

"It was fairly productive. She didn't realize that half the guys in Hogwarts were after her nicely toned bottom."

"She didn't realize her bottom was toned or that everyone was after it?" Sirius asked.

"Both, I think. How about you and Alyssa?" James looked at Sirius out of the corner of his eye, just enough to see Sirius flush.

"It was fine. You know, James, I really do like her."

"Then ask her out, or do you have dragon dung for brains, because she obviously likes you too."

"I might," Sirius examined the palm of his hand. "But I wouldn't want to leave out poor Remus."

"What about Peter?" James asked.

"Honestly, I don't trust him much, James," Sirius said sincerely. "There's something about him now, it makes me nervous. He's still part of the Marauders, I guess, but I just don't trust him."

"Sirius, he's been our best friend for all these years. He wouldn't betray us, ever. Definitely not Remus, after all he's helped him with school."

Sirius shook his head. "Believe what you want James, but I'm going to the Gryffindor Common Room now. I do believe I see a certain little red head coming this way. Go get 'em, Prongsie."

James scowled at Sirius as he walked away, laughing as if they'd not been talking about anything serious. He didn't quite know why, but Sirius' words had struck deep. Peter wouldn't betray them, ever, not even in the simplest way. Peter couldn't do that at all. Yet somewhere Sirius' words had planted a slight seed of doubt.

Author's Note: Yay I updated! Sorry, work's been really crazy lately. Ahh! Although I did try to update. Sorry, I've been running around like crazy, not to mention college is starting in like, a little more than 2 weeks for me. :O I'm so excited, but so nervous! Anyways, please remember to review, I love it when people do! Thanks!


	8. Broken Quidditch

It became apparent over the next few weeks after Halloween to Lily and James that there was definitely something strange and dark going on outside of Hogwarts. Because Lily was Muggle-born, her mum often sent her the Muggle papers, which were filled with strange accidents and disappearances, behind the tabloid schemes and politics of course.

"James," said Lily one Saturday. "Come look at this."

James looked over Lily's shoulder at the Muggle newspaper that she had laid out on her bed.

"Don't you think this is a bit odd?"

"What?" James asked as he straightened his glasses.

"Well," Lily pointed to a small article in the back of the paper. "It says _"Tidus and Fiona Harley, residents of Surrey,were found dead in their home last night. The cause of death, although appears to be natural causes, is unknown and the police are uncertain as to the cause. Doctor Heather kindly informed us that Mr. and Mrs. Harley were, in fact, in 'tip top shape and had many more years of life ahead of them' and that the reasons of their death are uncertain."_."

Lily looked at James, who obviously missed the point. "James," she sighed. "Tidus and Fiona Harley were Moira's aunt and uncle!"

"You mean that cute Hufflepuff third year that has this huge crush on Sirius?" James asked.

Lily sighed and smacked her forehead with her palm, but nodded.

"So, there's a connection of some kind?"

"Yes, James!"

"Look, Lily, I'm sorry I'm not as quick thinking as you are when it comes to this stuff. Why don't you just go discuss with McGonagall if you're worried?"

"Because, I'm really not sure what to say, James," Lily said, looking down at her folded hands. "I mean, this is all just freaky! Besides, the younger students need to know that something is going on, James! It's our responsibility as Head Girl and Boy to help the Professors take care of the other students."

James sighed and sat down next to Lily on her bed. "Look," he said resting his hand on her shoulder. "Professor Dumbledore will say something as soon as there is something solid to say. They have no idea who's doing this, although I bet Dumbledore's onto something. He talked to McGonagall about it, didn't he?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"No buts, Lily," said James firmly. "Dumbledore knows what he's doing. Besides, you need to have a clear head for today. I mean, we do have a match against Slytherin."

"Selene is on the team, you know. She's Keeper, actually."

"If she goes easy on you, then hex her. I don't want to win that way."

"James," sighed Lily. "Quidditch is the only thing Selene has _never _gone easy on me at."

"Okay, so today we're playing Slytherin," began James.

"Excellent observation, Prongsie, I would have never guess judging by the crowd," interrupted Sirius.

James kicked a spare Quaffle at him before continuing. "Anyways, we have a newer team this year, but we have better players, not to mention everyone on our team works very well together. So, go out there and kick some-"

"Mr. Potter, are you ready yet?" asked Professor McGonagall as she poked her head into the team locker room.

"Yeah, Professor."

Sirius choked back a laugh and Alyssa giggled, her head leaning against his shoulder.

"You know, James," said Lily as the Gryffindor team made its way to the pitch. "You really need to work on your pep-talks."

"They're too short?" James asked.

Lily shook her head with a smile as the team walked onto the pitch and mounted their brooms. She saw Selene in her green and silver Quidditch robes. They both exchanged quick winks, something they'd done to wish the other luck ever since they both began playing Quidditch in their Fourth Years.

"Alright, mount your brooms," said Professor McGonagall before blowing her whistle.

All seven players shot into the air at once, the game having begun and the Snitch having disappeared into the sky.

"Oi, James!" Sirius called across the pitch. "Watch out for Bludgers! McGrady has it out for us ever since we got him good in Charms last year!"

James gave Sirius the thumbs up as he flew around, looking out for the Snitch.

Lily zoomed past the Slytherin Chasers as she untucked the Quaffle from under her arm and tossed it to Blunt and then dodged and Bludger shot at her by McGrady.

"Watch your head, Lily!" said Alyssa as she smacked the Bludger with her bat back towards McGrady. "He's got it out for the Marauders!"

Lily shook her head. Why was everyone considering her part of the Marauders? Sure, maybe she'd been participating in their more harmless pranks lately, but that didn't make her a Marauder, did it?"

"Oi, Lily!"

Lily looked up a few seconds too late as a Bludger smashed into her left arm. She heard it crack, even over all the stadium noise, but just wrapped her arm across her stomach and kept her hand firmly on the broom. The break wasn't too bad, even though tears were almost clouding her vision. She had the Quaffle under her arm, Gryffindor was tied with Slytherin. If she didn't score before James caught the Snitch, they would tie with Slytherin, and that just couldn't happen.

Alyssa flew next to Lily. "Lily, are you okay?" She smacked away another Bludger, aimed by none other than McGrady.

"I'm fine,"Lily hissed as she leaned lower to her broom so she could go a little faster. "My arm's broken, so tell James to hurry up and find that bloody Snitch."

"Gotcha," Alyssa said before flying off to Sirius to let him know what happened.

"And you better find a way to get James to catch that Snitch," Alyssa said seriously. "She won't sit out, even with a broken arm."

"Fine," Sirius flew off towards James as Lily approached the goal posts, holding the Quaffle close to her body so she wouldn't lose her grip on it.

Selene looked at Lily uncertainly, her eyebrows furrowed into dark, crooked lines as she circled the goal posts.

"Don't let this one in on purpose," Lily mouthed to Selene who nodded, and as Lily threw the Quaffle, dove to catch it, but missed as it soared through the hoop and Blunt swept around to catch it.

The Gryffindor side of the stadium roared with applause as Lily flew away from the goal posts, trying to keep in the action, before James caught the snitch by the tips of it's wings, and Professor McGonagall blew her whistle, ending the game just before McGrady smacked a Bludger towards James, who barely missed it and made a rude hand gesture towards him.

"Gryffindor wins, 190 to 40!" the announcer boomed throughout the stadium, the cheers of the Gryffindor fans overwhelming the jeering from the Slytherin side.

"Lily, are you okay?" Alyssa ran to Lily before she touched ground, catching Lily before she fell off her broom.

"You idiot!" James shouted as he ran to where Lily and Alyssa sat on the grass. "I've told you before that you don't have to sacrifice yourself _that _much for the team, Lily!"

Lily laughed weakly. "Now why would you tell me something dumb like that?"

"Because you're the only one dumb enough to play half a Quidditch match with a broken arm." James crossed her arms, his face flushed, before he walked over to Professor McGonagall and explained the situation.

"Dang, Lily," chuckled Sirius. "I haven't seen James that pissed since Snape called you a Mudblood."

Lily sighed and leaned against Alyssa, the rest of the Gryffindor team having been told to "bugger off". "Well, I'm a big girl and can play Quidditch as much as I want."

"Well, still," said Sirius. "Playing with a broken arm isn't smart, especially with a venomous fiend like McGrady out there. Now, if we were playing Hufflepuff..."

"Her arm never would have gotten broken in the first place." Professor McGonagall was making her way towards them with a very stern look on her face, and a very grumpy James following her. "Miss Evans, in all my years of knowing you, I have never seen a more foolish stunt."

"Professor, I was just playing with injuries. People do it all the time."

"At least fifty feet in the air, Miss Evans," Professor McGonagall said as angrily as she could without yelling. "And Mr. Potter will escort you to the Hospital Wing, granted your legs aren't broken as well."

Alyssa and Sirius helped Lily to her feet before James shooed them away and, with Lily's unbroken arm around his neck and his arm around her waist, helped her to the Hospital Wing.

"You really didn't have to do that, you know," said James a little less angrily once he a Lily were away from everyone else. "Blunt and Collins are perfectly capable Chasers, that's why I picked them."

"Well still, I had an opening, I was on a roll," said Lily defensively. "If I'd passed, it wouldn't have worked, and I couldn't let us tie to Slytherin."

James shook his head. "You don't get it. Playing with one arm is dangerous, especially when you're holding on with the broken arm."

Lily glared at James. "So it's okay to do it when you're a Seeker, but not a Chaser?"

"You're a girl."

"That has nothing to do with it, you sexist weasel!"

James didn't reply. He simply shrugged and remained silent for the rest of the way to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey fussed over Lily's broken arm, ranted about how Quidditch was far too dangerous, especially for such small framed girls, and administered to Lily about twelve different foul smelling and odd coloured potions.

"You are staying in here for the rest of the weekend, Miss Evans," she said firmly, then turned to James. "Don't you stay too long, she needs her rest. Luckily I didn't have to use as much Skelegrow as I did when you broke your leg, Mr. Potter."

James shuddered as Madam Pomfrey went back to her office, leaving James and Lily alone.

"Skelegrow?" Lily asked.

"I guess she thinks your break is bad enough that it needs to grow back some."

"I thought she could mend them in a few seconds."

"Usually," said James. "You putting stress on it probably did some sort of damage. It'll hurt tonight when the bones grow back together. It works fast though."

James stood up to leave, but Lily put her hand on his before he could. "You know that I was just doing my best."

"And you know that I was just worried sick about you, right?"

"You don't need to worry about me, James. I'm a big girl."

"Even big girl's need someone to pick them up when they trip, you know. You certainly have Slytherin pride."

Lily shook her head. "You have Ravenclaw wits, but why can't you use them in class?"

James smirked and with a wink said, "Because I'm in Gryffindor. I'll visit you after dinner. And if I don't hear from Madam Pomfrey that you got some sleep, I'll give you detention."

"And if I hear that you're spying on me, I'll give you detention," said Lily, catching on to his playfulness.

"Oh, dear, Lily giving me detention. Try to spice it up, why don't you? Detention with the other teachers has gotten so predictable."

Lily shook her head as James left the Hospital Wing. She'd gotten very accustomed to the butterflies she felt in her stomach when she was around him, but for some reason, they made her very nervous that day.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for sticking with my story, those of you who have thus far. I got the sudden idea for this chapter while I was at work, and I really felt bad because I haven't updated in a while, SO there you guys go! I hope everyone enjoyed it I enjoyed writing this chapter, actually, because I liked writing James as angry. :O Of course, he was only worried about Lily lol. Anyways, make sure to Read and Review! Your reviews keep me inspired, I swear to God!


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